Happy Birthday, Gem of the Desert!
While we have been known to move around a lot in the style of a…
Happy Birthday, Gem of the Desert!
While we have been known to move around a lot in the style of a comedic witness protection program, this is the first time we have actually written about our current hometown. That says something about La Quinta, California. Located in the Coachella Valley surrounded by the Colorado Desert, La Quinta was founded as a…
When the Desert Gives You Girl Scout Lemonades
As the saying goes, life gets in the way while you’re making other plans. We share with you an unexpected adventure that happened last weekend. Some may even refer to it as a cautionary tale. This one involved two boomers in a yellow 2005 Wrangler TJ. We were on the way to look at some alphabet ghost towns…
How Camels Paved the Way for Route 66
It wasn’t Camel cigarettes that paved the way for Route 66, although that would come later with its billboards and imagery appearing along the iconic Mother Road. It was living, breathing dromedaries (one humped Arabian camels) and Bactrian camels (two humped) acquired from Turkey, Egypt, and Tunisia. A persistent legend of the Southwest is the…
Welcome Home, Vietnam War Veterans
The United States’ views of Vietnam and Ho Chi Minh during World War II and during the Cold War changed quite dramatically. It is important to analyze the results of shifting perspectives during this period. The Tonkin Resolution in 1964, which will be summarized later, delineated the changes to United States policy and actions in…
Earle C. Strebe Theatres: Palm Trees to Pines
The honor of receiving the very first star on Palm Springs Walk of Stars in 1992 didn’t go to a blockbuster entertainer like Bob Hope, Ginger Rogers or Frank Sinatra. The coveted star was instead bestowed upon a modest and well-liked man from Indiana, Earle Clifford Strebe, in front of the historic Plaza Theatre he…
Rice, California: More Than Abandoned Shoes
Once there was a town. Rice, California, formerly named Blythe Junction, west of the Colorado River, between Twentynine Palms and the Arizona state line. Now the place is just a lonely train siding with the tattered remains of a few buildings, an ubiquitous “shoe tree” and an abandoned airfield watching cars race by at 90 miles…
Oro Grande: Where Cement Became More Precious Than Gold
The town of Oro Grande, dates back to 1852 with the founding of a trading post along the Mojave River. Gold mining operations began shortly after. First known as “Upper Crossing,” and then “Halleck,” Oro Grande was later named after the first mine found nearby. The name literally means “big gold” in Spanish. The history …
Fishing for Art in Bombay Beach
It may not have followed a three hour tour on the S.S. Minnow but Bombay Beach was founded on October 8, 1929 by R.E. Gilligan along the shore of the Salton Sea, the largest inland lake in the southern California. Mary Ann approves. Here’s some more fun facts: But wait, there’s more. The California Department…
African Lion Spotted in Amboy Was a Cool Cat
You may be familiar with the large marble Chinese Guardian Lion statues between Route 66 and Kelbaker Road but did you know Amboy may have once had its very own living African lion? “Old Man Miller,” as he was known in the Amboy area, was the first person to spot a large African lion near…
Bandera Shines Bright: Books From Deep in the Heart of Texas
Last week we wrote an article about our favorite desert books on our shelves. We would be remiss to our Texas friends and family if we overlooked our collection of Texas books. As many already know, we traded in the California desert for Bandera, Texas for a couple of years before returning to the land…
